Epic Lake Livingston; Chase comes to town

Somehow I talked Sharon into going camping last week. I said camping by a lake in Texas in July would be awesome and she trusted me. I was eager to try out our canoe on something a bit more ambitious than the pond by our house, and Lake Livingston, about 60 miles northwest of Houston, sounded like a good bet.

We got to camp around 2:00 and it didn't take Sharon long to comment that it felt like Hell. We set up camp and eagerly headed to the lake for a swim. We had a nice time (except for the fire ants that attacked Enoch) and returned to camp for a nice dinner.

Then, Hell returned. The bugs homed in on Sharon. I forgot the diapers when we took the kids to shower, and by the time we got out of the cramped shower with clothes on we were just as sweaty as before. Both kids decided to have a screaming fit. Both babies were eventually ready for bed, but after 5 minutes of silence in the tent they both started screaming. Michael was drenched in sweat. After 2 hours of chaos in the tent, both kids finally fell asleep.

But then they slept for 8 hours straight. All in all, not too bad!

Nonetheless, Sharon insisted it felt very Hellish, and I reluctantly accepted her claim that it was absurd to bring babies camping in the middle of July in Texas. Sharon made it very clear that our camping trip was going to be cut short to one night instead of two. And that she was never going camping again in July in Texas.

In that case, I decided we better have an epic day trip on the canoe.

At the time it seemed like a grand compromise. We go home early, but maybe be a little more aggressive on the canoe than we would otherwise be. In reality, of course, when you talk a mom into doing anything with 2 babies in a canoe, it's anything but a compromise. It's a devil's deal. And I guess that makes me the devil. 

But it was awesome! I went onto google maps and estimated the route we took:

If we had gone straight there and back, it would have been 2.5 miles each way for a total of 5 miles of paddling. Adding in my novice navigational skills makes it about 6.

Looking at the map, it seems a bit crazy that we would even think about traveling across 2.5 miles of lake with a 10 month old and a 2 year old in a canoe. Maybe we're bad parents. But we had plenty of food, water, life jackets for everyone, and I knew the weather forecast was clear of wind and rain. The lake was also busy enough that we could have called over a power boat if we truly came into dire straights.

In reality, it was sort of a spur of the moment decision to go to the island. We were just paddling around the bay and I commented about how fun it would be to paddle to the island.

Sharon said, "What's stopping you?"

I said, "Partly it's just that it's far away, but mainly that there's a high probability that the kids will explode in the middle of the lake."

She nodded her head, and when she replied that it was OK if we wanted to go I decided it was all the permission I needed. We were off.

8:15AM and we're doing great, leaving the bay

We couldn't believe our luck when Michael fell asleep so Sharon could help me paddle

30 minutes later, the island sort of seems bigger

We made it! Time to find a beach

Fun times

A perfect, shaded beach, made all the more satisfying because there are no beeches where we were on the other side of the lake

It happened... the kids blew up right in the middle of the lake on the way back. Both of them were screaming and begging for their momma. Sharon shouted, "I can't believe you put us in this situation!" I tactfully replied that I prophesied this would happen and that we both shared responsibility. Maybe not the best comment to make :0
Oh and yes, Michael's life jacket is off. Let he who is without sin ---

We finally made it back! You can see the island in the background. Everyone became much happier as they lay in the shade with a relatively cool breeze. I let them relax, went to pack up camp, and we feasted on watermelon and jumped into the lake before driving back to Houston.

All-in-all, it was one of the funnest trips I've been on in a long time. I think Sharon even has some fond memories, too, amidst the ones that remind her of Hell. In my opinion, this version of Hell ain't half bad, but I get the gist. Thanks for putting up with everything, Sharon!

For completion's sake, here's some video of us on the lake.

A few pics of the previous night:

Chase is in San Antonio right now doing an anesthesia rotation, and he came down to spend the afternoon with us. It was a lot of fun to hang out with him. Ever since my neurology professor told a (made up?) story about someone getting stabbed at the best buffalo burger joint in Texas, I've always wanted to go there. We seized our chance with Chase in town and went to Bubbas Burger Shack. It pretty much is just a shack, and it's right under the freeway. Ghetto, but great burgers. And now we can all say we've eaten buffalo.

We also went to the Waterwall, which was more impressive than I imagined. If you wanted to build a fountain that reminded you of Niagara Falls, I would say this is a good way to do it.

Thanks for taking our pictures, Chase!